Climate change remains a growing concern, affecting everything from how businesses operate, how developing countries acquire resources, to how communities rebuild when faced with the devastating effects of natural disasters caused by global warming. According to the World Health Organization, global temperatures are rising at an alarming rate, and the excessive burning of fossil fuels poses a major threat to human health. Furthermore, the emissions of carbon dioxide, fossil fuels, and other greenhouse gases make climate change a serious problem in today’s world, and it is having a major impact on how people approach their daily lifestyles. New technologies are being developed to mitigate the risks of climate change, and many companies are working to achieve net-zero emissions and investing in various machines to reverse the negative impacts. But will these measures be enough to reduce global temperatures?
Unfortunately, activities such as increased industrial activity, urbanization, and accelerated consumerism are detrimental to the environment as they deplete unnecessary resources and threaten human life and various animal species. In addition, rising temperatures are causing glaciers to melt, which is affecting all living things in cold environments. Overall, climate change is having a huge impact on the whole of Europe, including Latvia, and is affecting society and the national economy. Below we will look at some of the biggest consequences Latvia is facing due to climate change.
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The temperature rises
Latvia is now experiencing milder winters, with significantly less snow cover. Unfortunately, this has a direct impact on winter tourism and traditional activities such as skiing and ice fishing. The rising temperatures have lengthened the growing season, which may seem beneficial for agriculture, but the risks should not be overlooked, as unpredictable weather patterns can lead to droughts and crop failures.
sea ​​level rise
Latvia’s Baltic coast is vulnerable to sea level rise, which increases coastal erosion, threatens coastal habitats, and increases the risk of flooding in coastal towns and cities. In addition, changes in sea temperature can affect marine ecosystems, causing changes in fish populations and possibly affecting the fishing industry.
biodiversity change
Climate change is changing species distributions, and some native species are becoming less common than before. In addition, Latvian forests are under a lot of stress due to changing rainfall patterns and increasingly common pests and diseases. Unfortunately, this can have irreversible consequences, leading to a decline in biodiversity.
extreme weather phenomenon
In Latvia, storms are becoming more frequent and intense, leading to coastal erosion, infrastructure damage and increased flooding in low-lying areas. In addition to the increased frequency of storms with devastating consequences, higher temperatures are also leading to more frequent droughts and heatwaves, which are affecting agriculture, water resources and the risk of forest fires.
public health issues
More frequent and intense heat waves can increase heat-related problems, especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly. Hot temperatures can also lead to diseases such as mosquito bites, potentially increasing the risk of Lyme disease and other viruses.
Economic impact
The impact of climate change on tourism cannot be ignored, especially since the instability of snow cover can affect winter tourism. In addition, increased damage from storms and floods can lead to increased costs for infrastructure repairs and maintenance, which can affect the long-term profitability of Latvia’s tourism industry.
How is Latvia responding to climate change?
In 2019, Latvia’s economy was the 12th most carbon-intensive in the European Union. However, it has managed to reduce its carbon intensity by 21% over the past years, compared to the EU average of 33%. Transport was the largest contributor to Latvia’s GHG emissions in 2005, with emissions increasing by up to 6.9% in 2019, and the sector’s share of GHG emissions also increased to 27.8%. Significant reductions occurred in the construction and manufacturing sector, which saw an impressive 42% drop in emissions between 2005 and 2019, further reducing the sector’s share of total emissions from 10.1% to 5.7%.
Latvia’s net emissions in 2018 were 13.6 MtCO2e and in 2019 12.9 MtCO2e, an increase of 11.2% between 2005 and 2019. Land use, land-use change and forestry emissions were variable between 2005 and 2018, with net emissions increasing. The decline in the carbon sink capacity of Latvia’s LULUCF sector is due to a doubling of logging and changes in the age structure of state forests, and the share of mature and overgrown forests. Latvia aims to address carbon losses in the carbon sink capacity both in the LULUCF sector and in the agro-industry through animal feed, manure management and improved CO2 sequestration from forests, with the sink capacity expected to reach 3.1 MtCO2e by 2030.
Latvia’s remarkable plan, approved on July 2, 2020, aims to improve the quality of living conditions and increase regional development. The focus here is on the environment and nature, balanced regional development, and technological services and improvements. To achieve this, Latvia plans to take a number of measures, including reducing GHG emissions through climate change mitigation measures, leveraging technological advances, increasing carbon sequestration, and changing the public transport network by promoting regional mobility and the rail system.
The outlook for climate change looks dire, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take action to improve the situation.
The reality is that the climate change outlook beyond 2024 is not good. In fact, between 2022 and 2026, the world will be warmer than ever before, breaking the record set in 2016. Now, this doesn’t mean we should do nothing to improve the current situation. In fact, there are still many actions that need to be taken to make a difference to the state of our planet in the long term. For example, countries, companies, and individuals need to be climate positive, and that doesn’t just mean joining the movement to achieve net-zero emissions. Being climate positive means reducing your personal carbon footprint, rather than simply investing in carbon offsets to reduce your carbon emissions. In addition, there are many actions we can take in our daily lives to improve climate change. For example, implementing greener transportation, avoiding fast fashion, showering less, turning off devices when not in use, and adopting a plant-based diet.
conclusion
Climate change is a major concern across the board, and its consequences affect everyone. But global leaders, countries, and individuals can still take action to change the course of climate change, so the next few years won’t seem so bad.
